Hogwarts: Year One
by The Phantom Dragon
Summary: Nothing sucks quite so much as a famous father's shadow. Little Albus is about to face the joys of our most beloved academy of witchcraft and wizardry. 'Luckily' he's got some new friends help him along when things inevitably go to hell. Co-written with my erstwhile muse Shadowno.
1. Chapter 1

_**So, new co-write with Shadowno. He concocts the bones I make sure it has some form of movement. Enjoy **_

Chapter 1

Albus felt the train lurch under him as it began its journey; his heart beating a mile a minute alongside it, the rush of looking forward to his first year at Hogwarts. Maybe not complete excitement, however, as his mind remembered James's words.

He was the son of Harry Potter, the boy who lived that finally put an end to Lord Voldemort, the greatest evil wizard of all time. James had warned his younger brother that he would most likely catch crap for being his father's son, at least until he made a name for himself in his own right. It wouldn't be all bad, it was just that there were still a lot of pure blood wizarding families that still believed they were superior to half blooded ones, despite the Ministry's new focus on eradicating the prejudice against half blooded and muggle born wizards. The family of the man who brought all that crashing around their ears would be especially singled out in spite of blood lines.

Speaking of family, where had his gone? James had told him it was traditional for first years to sit together, a bonding session for potential friends and classmates if you would. Like hell. One cousin with her mother's inelegance levels, make that prissy level, and her two sidekicks whose mommy was daddy's girlfriend for a year? Awkward. Plus they were girls, that was _so not_ doing anything for his social status.

Coming to a decision he raced down the cars after his brother's retreating back. James could bitch all he wanted about the little brother tag along, Uncle George had told him about some incriminating evidence should he ever be in need of a little leverage. Besides, the worst that could happen was his brother's friends were reading off the same hormonal page and he got the newbie jokes treatment. His babysitter was the wizarding world's most popular prank master, what could they possibly put out he hadn't already seen? He managed to catch up to James who was searching compartments for his friends.

"No, you may not sit with me." James responded to his brother's appearance. Albus scowled, how is it his brother could so intimately tell what he was thinking at times like these and be a complete twit the other ninety-five-percent? "Run along and find yourself some nice new playmates to whine to."

"Everywhere else is full."

"Then you'd better get busy on those friends to save you a seat for next year. If you manage to make it to the end of the ride without crying for mum that is." Albus was saved having to think up a passable witty remark as James appeared to find what he was looking for.

The compartment was near the end of the train and empty sans one figure slouched by the window with a book that had slipped from limp fingers to partial obscure the face. The sight seemed to have caused a new set of wheels to start creaking in James's demented mind because he promptly forgot about his limpet as a small smirk tugged the corners of his mouth. Albus silently sighed, knowing what 'that' smile meant.

Sure enough, James quietly slipped the handle and began tiptoeing across the small room; though why he found this necessary Albus would never know since the sound of the train wheels rattling on the tracks muffled pretty much anything shy of yelling 'BOO'. Albus rolled his eyes as James reached out a hand and waved it back and forth in front of the person. Would it kill his brother to act his age for five minutes? When no reaction was provoked, James turned to throw his little brother his signature 'watch and learn' grin… and promptly found himself on the floor.

"Potter, Potter, Potter," the book came away to reveal a very pretty girl wearing an expression of mixed mild annoyance and disappointment, "have you still yet to learn what passes as a good, or rather _bad_, idea when attempting to prank me?"

James chuckled and picked himself off the floor with a slight wince. "A man can hope can't he?"

"And who would this man be?" Albus choked on a snort and decided his chances here were as good as any.

"What the... No, no no no no NO!" James said, before his brother could enter the compartment. "Not gonna happen Al."

"Boyfriend trouble Jamie?" The girl asked, flicking one sarcastic eyebrow with a cruel undertone.

"Ha, very funny." James said, looking back at her. "He's my little brother."

"Well, don't be a jerk." She said, turning her attention to Albus. "Come on in sweetie."

James momentarily froze then shot a subtle and meaningful glare at his younger brother. "He should be sitting with other first years." He said, obviously just wanting to avoid having to deal with his brother now that they were on their way back to the school.

"Don't be so stringent my dear boy. People might start thinking you contagious the way you ward them off with such a vengeance."

"I d..." Albus began, wanting to spare his brother; the situation had caught him off balance. On the one hand he did not want to go against his brother so early in the year; on the other, something about the girl said it would be a very bad idea to refuse her offer.

"Must I repeat myself?" This time a frigid gaze met his to emphasize the words. "I said, Sit. Down."

"You heard her." James said with a tone of nervousness in his voice. "She usually throws a fit if she doesn't get her way.

"I? Throw a fit? Interesting choice of words coming from the boy who took two hours venting after failing a quiz he'd been reminded to study for the entire week. Repeatedly, I might add."

Albus wasn't sure if he wanted to smile or hide behind his brother. James was afraid of crossing her, that much was obvious, the question now being whether he should too. Seeing her slumped, apparently asleep, had been a complete misnomer.

She looked like she might be the same year as his brother but the air with which she carried herself belied the age. She looked like she might have been partially of Asian descent and was, now that he'd had a better look, very pretty, with fine bone structuring that ended in a stubborn chin. But most striking was the eyes. An odd mix of yellow-grey with hints of green, hooded in a frame of dark lashes beneath sharp, articulate brows, they held him like a hunter who knew its prey had no prayer of escape.

He wondered if maybe there might be any hope of politely refusing but she left him no choice in that matter, gestured to the bench she was on. Feeling his odds of seeing tomorrow fluttering out the window like feathers from a dying bird, Albus carefully lowered himself to the seat he'd been directed to.

She gave a small smile with none of the earlier frost. "Since the ape unfortunately known as your brother is determined to play the rude prick, I'm Akuji."

"I'm Albus Potter." Somehow the formalness of her tone prompted him to give his full name even though it would not take a genius to figure it out.

"Albus eh? What, may I ask, insensate prick gives a child a name that makes them sound like they belong in a rocking chair by the fire with a grandkid or several on their knee?

"I was named after a Headmasters of Hogwarts., two of them actually." Albus retorted defensively, he was proud of his name and it wouldn't be the first time he'd had to defend it.

Akuji said nothing more but gave him another long look with those feral eyes. "So this is your first year at school then?"

"Yeah, I'm actually kind of nervous about it."

"Don't be. Despite the international hoorah it so fondly emanates, compared to where I'm from it's a walk in the park."

James huffed at the scene and turned away, and promptly fell back almost on top of Albus with a sharp yelp. Reflexively shoving his brother off him, Albus immediately froze at what he saw.

His first impression was a large oval of long, pearl white needles set on a pink background. Fangs, his mind supplied when it caught up. The jaw closed and Albus instead found himself staring into dark jade eyes of a golden cat with…horns?

The spell was broken by a knock on the compartment door. Tearing his eyes away from the creature that had startled his brother, Albus saw another student standing in the doorway. Momentarily he forgot about the teeth and wondered if he wasn't screwed for the rest of the ride.

The boy looked to be the same age as James but stood a little taller. What Albus noticed first and foremost were his eyes, dark emeralds that seemed to shine, giving them an almost glowing quality.

Oh and he was definitely just as pretty if not prettier than Akuji.

You couldn't tell much about build since the guy was already dressed in the shapeless school robes, but his delicate Asian features and pale skin were a sight that made even loudmouthed James shut up and stare. At this angle the long, jet black hair could just be seen disappearing into a neat ponytail that went past his shoulders. How someone could look like that and still be very recognizably male was beyond poor little Albus.

"I apologize for intruding," despite the formality, Albus surprisingly felt himself relax at the low, polite tone, "but it would appear everywhere else is full. Would it be an imposition for me to join you?"

"Not at all." James happily seized the opportunity to change the populace in his favor. "Al, scoot up."

"I apologize, I was unaware we were now taking order from Lord Potter now." Akuji taunted. Albus almost flinched at the razor chill of her tone. Akuji either did not notice or did not care. Instead she pulled out a long, white wand which she pointed at the new arrival's trunk and Albus's that was still blocking the aisle.

Albus resisted the urge to gawp as the two trunks floated up to settle on the far end of the racks. According to his knowledge speechless spells were an advanced class. Even Aunt Hermione hadn't been able pull them off before her sixth year. That Akuji could do so with such ease spoke volumes.

The movement however, seemed to disturb the creature perched above their heads. It promptly renounced its presence by making a landing pad of James who still lay partially sprawled on the floor between the seats, landing squarely on his stomach.

Albus jerked then instinctively went still. The thing was bloody massive. The memory of all those teeth playing bright and fresh in his mind.

"Than, that's enough." Akuji said. The cat seemed to give James a dismissive flick of its eyes then leapt gracefully over to its master who smirked. "Honestly James, you spend two months avoiding him then try sneaking up on me without looking to see where he was?" Ignoring her friend's glare she offered a nod to the newcomer. "Feel free to safely ignore the troll in the room."

James huffed, picked himself up with as much dignity as he could manage and sat opposite Akuji. The other boy gave a polite dip of acknowledgment and sat opposite Albus, a respectful distance from James.

Silence sat thickly for several seconds.

"A beautiful creature, a Caracal if I'm not mistaken." The new comer complimented.

Akuji looked mildly surprised but nodded with seeming approval.

"Bloody tiger is what he is."

Akuji sent James a cold glare with a matching smirk. "He's a kitten you ignoramus buffoon and you knew that quite well."

"A kitten!" Albus exclaimed. "That thing is a foot long!"

"A foot-and-a-half, more or less. Not to worry, he hasn't eaten a first year since last January, so you're probably safe" Akuji gave another smirk, this time with a smidgen of warmth behind it. "Akuji," she said pleasantly, holding out her hand. "This is Albus Potter and the heathen next to you is his brother James."

"Crevan Daray," he held out his hand in a perfect mirror of Akuji's cultured formality. His tone staying neutral the entire time but still retaining that slight, soothing baritone that gave nothing away.  
Not hostile, but not quite sure if friendship was a potential. Either way would be dealt with in the same smooth, unflappable manner.

"American?" Akuji asked.

"Exchange student, this is my first year studying abroad." Crevan responded. "and you?"

"Lived all over, my first year was in Nepal then I transferred here last year."

Albus was surprised at the information; he'd noticed Akuji's accent but hadn't thought to ask. His observation was cut short as his personal space was casually intruded upon. The caracal had slid off Akuji's lap and now sat between them, staring at Albus intently. Up close he now saw that what he'd mistaken as horns were in fact the cat's ears, long and curved back at the ends with an extra length of stiff, upright hair which gave them that antler-like appearance. The fur was a rich gold except the muzzle, which was white with black markings on the nose, eyes, mouth and whiskers. The back of the ears were also black. The whole effect was very exotic and slightly intimidating.

"Than?" Akuji had stopped talking to watch her pet. Slowly, it moved one paw forward, then another, dense muscle bunching intimidatingly beneath its silken coat with every step. About half a foot from Albus, Than stopped, stretched out his neck, and sniffed at the boy. Akuji said nothing, just opting to watch the scene playing out before her. Albus stayed very still. He would not say he was unusually small, but standing on all fours on the seat Than was eye level with him and he'd really rather not have to make an emergency visit to the hospital wing his first night at Hogwarts.

Seeming to have found what he was looking for, Than sat on his haunches, stretched his neck a bit further…and licked Albus on the nose.

"Holy…" James didn't get to finish his phrase as Albus toppled backwards in shock. Than huffed in seeming annoyance and got up to plant his front paws on Albus's side where he proceeded to lick the boy's hair, cheek and just generally the left side of his head.

The feel of the warm raspy tongue tickled the sensitive skin under his chin and ears and Albus couldn't control the small giggles. Deciding the cat meant him no harm Albus reached up a hand to scratch one of the oversized ears. The effect was instantaneous, Than folded his legs and shoved his head further into Albus's palm, twisting his head to rub against the boy's neck while he was at it.

"Well, that's new." Albus sat back up to face Akuji who had and unreadable expression in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Than seemed to remember himself and sat back as well, but remained close enough for Albus to continue running a hand through the fur on his back. Akuji gave him a small, curious smile.

"That's the first I've seen Than take so rapidly to someone other myself and my godfather, though since I raised him I'm not too sure how much that counts." This time when Albus met her eyes he saw veiled approval there.

"Oh," Albus blushed and suddenly felt blush creeping across his cheeks at the praise. "So, uh, that's, um, a good thing then?"

The air seemed to freeze a beat; then Akuji gave a shrill squeak that made everyone jump. "O.M. F-ing G! You are just adorable! James, can I keep him!? Please, please, pwetty pwease?"

James did not reply. Albus dared peek at his brother and almost gave in to the grin threatening to split his face. James looked absolutely, fucking horrified at what he had just heard. Finally a 'you can't be serious' was squeaked out.

"What? You so obviously don't want him and he's friggen glomp material of the highest quality." Albus had no idea what glomp was and thus had no idea if he should be flattered at the obvious praise in her tone or offended at her accusations toward his brother.

James smiled weakly and made one last ditch effort to buy himself out of the situation. "He's a first year."

Akuji leaned forward to flash James a sugar poisoned smile, "I said, can I keep him, please."

Even the inexperienced Albus somehow knew by instinctive that refusing that tone would be a very bad, _bad_, idea. Akuji was not asking, no delusion there. James gulps, swallowed a few more times, then simply opted for nodding his head.

"Epic!" Akuji squealed again and actually started bouncing in her seat and grinning at Albus with ten new kinds of crazy. "This is going to be so much fun."

Once again fate seemed to take pity on the poor boy who was saved from having to answer yet again by Than who pulled away to take a exploratory sniff at the car's last occupant. Crevan held out an obliging hand to be sniff and waited patiently as the giant cat checked almost every inch of skin. Than finished sniffing, gave one experimental lick, then settled back to clean his nose before turning to his master. An exchange of some sort seemed to pass between them and an agreement met.

"Guess that means your kosher USA." Albus flicked an eyebrow in an almost identical manner to the ears of the cat that spared him a last look before lying down between its mistress and newest acquaintance.

Finally, for the first time since he'd arrived, Daray gave a small smiled and relaxed back in his seat. Yes this was shaping up to be an interesting year indeed.

* * *

_**Comments! My loving readers **_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The train slowed to a stop just as Albus managed to get his tie fitted correctly. He had been struggling with it since they changed into their school robes; he even thought he saw a faint glimmer of amusement in Crevan's eyes while watching his misfortune. Albus tried not to sulk as the others stood and gathered their stuff.

"Than, come." Akuji said. The cat perked up and gracefully leapt, found a foothold on her sleeve and scampering about for a bit before laying itself across her shoulders behind her head. How the girl managed to support that weight while still moving as if nothing had changed was beyond Albus.

"I'd love to ride up to the school with you," Crevan explained as he moved for the door, "but I'm afraid there are several things that require my attention before I'm officially a student. So I will see you all at the opening feast." The others bid their farewells with him, and he left the compartment, his trunk floating in his wake. Akuji looked at the two brothers.

"James, help your bother with his trunk," she semi-ordered, before leaving, the same spell affecting her trunk as had Crevan's.

"Don't even think about it." James said, once Akuji was out of ear shot. "And don't think that just because Akuji likes you, you can boss me around." he added the punch in the arm as a topper, and left, floating his trunk ahead of him with a somewhat mean smirk.

Albus struggled for a moment, trying to heft his trunk up. He didn't know how they expected him to carry so much stuff. Bless Aunt Hermione and her good heart, but did it really make that much difference if they dragged their own trunks to the platform instead of leaving them on the train for the elves to collect? Finally, after a few minutes, he managed to hoist the end of the blasted thing up. Gasping from the physical exertion, he awkwardly waddled towards the compartment door and exited.

Just his luck upon making it into the hallway he bumped into something much bigger than him and fell back. Wincing, he pushed the trunk off of his leg then looked up to see what he had walked into. What he saw was enough to make him freeze up, as instinctive fear petrified his muscles. There was some kind of monster on the train, and it was staring straight at him.

It was tall, probably six feet high, and decrepit in very undead sort of way. What had gotten his attention, though, was its eyes; black, not just the irises, but its entire orb. A scar ran just off center of the bottom lip, and straight down his chin, disappearing into a faint goatee. He, it was definitely a him, wore black robes, which it took Albus a moment to realize were school robes. In the dark, Albus could faintly make out a badge pinned to the front of the monster's robes.

"Sorry, didn't see you." It spoke, its voice low, and eerie enough to send a chill up down Albus's spine. It reached out with a skeletal hand, no, not skeletal, just unnaturally pale and thin. It gripped Albus by the arm, and pulled him to his feet. "You'd better hurry, or you'll miss the rest of the first years." He said, pulling out his wand and waving it at Albus's trunk so it rose to float at his side. "I'll put this on the platform for you."

"Er, thanks..." Albus said, backing away, afraid to take his eyes off of this thing? Person? He wasn't quite sure. Bumping into the doorway of the train car, he finally managed to pry his eyes away from where they demanded her focus and left through it. Once off the train, he found himself in a crowd of students, all rushing to and fro, he looked around desperately for some of a familiar face. That's when he heard the voice bellowing.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" The booming voice called out, echoing through the night that had grown a sudden spark of life with the arrival of the train. Albus looked up and saw him almost instantly. Hagrid was like an uncle to him, and standing at over eleven feet tall, wasn't hard to pick out in a crowed. His steel, brown hair and beard probably didn't hurt. "'Ay there Albus, finally the time eh?" He said, as he walked past, Albus falling into line after him, with the rest of the first years.

After walking for awhile, they came to a staircase which led down to a dock. "Alright firs' years, find a boat." Hagrid bellowed, leading the way down the steps. The students all followed, and picked out their boats. Albus managed to get into one with his cousin Rose, whom he had seen at King's Cross. And two others he wasn't familiar with, probably friends she had met on the train.

"'Everybody in?" Hagrid asked, looking around. "Right then – FORWARD!"

Albus wasn't shocked as the boats lurched forward, propelled magically through the water as they began what he had been told was a traditional journey across the black lake, to the school. After the first years settled down some, Rose leaned forward towards him.

"Where were you?" She asked, "I waited for you on the train, I even saved you a spot."

"Sorry." Albus said, feeling guilty. He had completely forgotten her. "I ended up sitting with James."

"James your bother? He actually let you sit with him?" She asked, a disbelieving tone in her voice.

"Well, not exactly." Albus went on to explain the train ride over. He finished it by adding. "After they left, I got my trunk up, and I was leaving the compartment when I saw this monster thing on the train, I think he was like a vampire or something."

"Now you're just messing with me." Rose accused. "There's no way Hogwarts would ever let a vampire work at the school."

"I didn't say it was for sure a Vampire, it just looked, I don't know, spooky. Its eyes were completely black, it was really creepy."

"Well, you missed out; I was hanging with these two." She said, pointing to the other two in the boat. "This is Jesse and Jessica Finnigan, they're twins."

"Nice to meet you." Albus greeted them. "I'm Albus Potter."

"Yeah, Rose told us about you. I'm Jesse, obviously, and this is Jessica." Jesse said, nodding towards his sister, who instantly blushed. "So, you're like really the son of Harry Potter, the head of the Aurors and the guy that vanquished Lord Voldemort?"

"Oh..." Albus responded, throwing a glance at Rose. He really wished she wouldn't have thrown that part around. "Yeah, I guess."

"Wow, that's really cool. I heard that he has a lightning bolt across his back." Jesse said.

"It's his forehead, stupid." Jessica corrected her brother.

"I guess." Albus said. "We don't really talk about it."

"Our dad went to school with him." Jesse went on explaining. "Sheamus Finnigan. Does he ever talk about him?"

"A little, I guess." Albus replied.

The four first years continued talking as the boats sailed across the lake for the next five minutes, before finally, Hagrid's voice boomed once again.

"Heads down!" he announced, just as the boats reached the cliffs on top which Hogwarts stood. The first years all ducked slightly as the boats sailed cleanly through a thick curtain of Ivy, and they found themselves in a small room, in which the boats automatically docked.

"'Right then, follow me." Hagrid boomed once everyone was out of the boats, and started up the stairs to a door, where he banged his fist against it three times loudly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"You're running late." The cold voice was their first greeting as the doors opened. A man stood in the entrance, and despite being nearly seven feet tall, he was still dwarfed by the much larger Hagrid.

"Er, sorry Alistair," Hagrid apologized. "It took some time to get them all gathered, lot of new students this year, what with the new Headmaster and such."

"Ah, yes. The new head master, don't get me started on him." Alistair replied, sighing. He then turned his attention to the first years. "I am Professor Trannyth, Welcome to Hogwarts. Now if you will please follow me, I'll be leading you to the Sorting ceremony." One by one, the first years fell in line as they followed the tall man up through the dark hallways of the Hogwarts castle.

"Did your brother tell you about him at _all_?" Rose asked Albus, as they walked a decent distance from the head of the line.

"No, but he seems like kind of a jerk." Albus answered, his voice low so that he wouldn't be overheard.

"Yeah, I suppose he does. If one of our teachers goes insane, and starts killing people, I'm putting my money on him." Rose giggled.

Before Albus could respond, they came to another doorway, and stopped. Professor Trannyth turned to address them.

"Now students, behind these doors is the Entrance Hall, beyond which lies what some of you already know as the Great Hall, where the sorting will be taking place. Once inside the Great Hall, stand in line at the front and I shall call out your names. When you are called, please step forward, and take a seat on the stool, and you will be sorted into one of the four Houses of Hogwarts," he explained. "These are named after the founders of our school, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

Albus tuned out as Professor Trannyth proceeded to explain the point system for the yearlong competition for the House Cup. He wondered if James and Akuji were already seated with other cousins from his family to place bets as a joke on which house he would enter like James had said he would. And how would Crevan's House be decided, he had never heard much about how the system adapted for exchange students and he was interested to see what would happen. His trip to la la land was interrupted by Rose poking him in the side and he was returned to the here-and-now to hear Trannyth giving one more formal welcome to the new students before turning towards the doors and stepping through them. They followed as he led them across the deserted Entrance Hall and through the grand doors of the Great Hall.

Albus looked at his feet, trying not to make eye contact with the hundreds of students that looked curiously upon the first years as they were marched down the center aisle to stand in front of a stool which in turn sat in front of a grand table, at which the staff all sat, save Trannyth, who turned to address the students.

"Let's jump straight into it then." He said, aiming his wand at the stool. In a flash of smoke, an old, beaten hat appeared sitting atop the stool.

"What a crummy old hat." Albus heard someone mutter behind him somewhere. Must have been a muggle born, as surely every wizard born would know of the Sorting Hat, created by the founders of Hogwarts.

"Very well," Trannyth said, picking the hat off the stool in his right hand, he pulled a parchment from his pocket with his left and let it unravel. "Nancy Anders." He read.

Slowly, a timid blonde girl stepped forward, eying the stool. "No reason to be shy." Trannyth urged surprisingly softly, a faint smile reassuring the girl. Maybe Albus had been wrong about him after all. The girl sat down, and the hat was placed on her head. A moment later...

"Hufflepuff!" The hat bellowed through the hall. The girl jumped off the stool, and hurried over to a table, where she was welcomed by her cheering housemates.

And so it went, one by one the first years were counted down and sorted. Albus waited anxiously. Despite what his father had said at the station, he couldn't help but yearn to not be put in Slytherin. He wanted, no, he needed to be placed in Gryffindor. Finally, his time came.

"Albus Potter!" Trannyth said, his eyes flicking straight to Albus as he stepped forward. Despite the time that had passed since his father's triumph over Voldemort, Albus could still sense eyes locked him from all around the hall, trying to get a look at the second son of The Boy Who Lived.

Upon taking a seat on the stool, he suddenly found himself in darkness, as the over sized hat was placed on his head. Immediately, he heard the hat whispering to him.

"Ah, yes. I would know you anywhere. Mm hmm, I see. I see. Just like your father eh?" The hat rambled, not stopping. "He loathed the idea of being in Slytherin as well. James also protested the possibility. Very well, kind of boring though..."

"Gryffindor!" The hat bellowed throughout the hall.

Thrilled, Albus handed the hat back to Professor Trannyth and ran to join the cheering Gryffindor table. As he walked down the table, a student he wasn't familiar with flew from the bench like the metaphorical bat out of hell and hurried fast as he could to the other end of the table. Looking away to the place he'd just vacated, he saw Akuji beaming at him.

"Saved you a spot." She almost squealed, practically dragging him onto the bench next to her.

Across from Akuji, to Albus's surprise, Crevan nodded in acknowledgment while next to him James sat with his face in his hands, trying desperately to hide from the shame of his brother at so close a vicinity. He did feel a little guilty about causing James duress, but didn't have time to think about it long, as soon Akuji was speaking again.

"I knew you'd be in Gryffindor." She said, patting him on the back. "Now I get to be your mentor in the art of shits and giggles in this gulag they call 'educational system'. Not to worry, no one's going to mess with you, not on my watch. If they do, I'll have an excuse to fillet them alive."

"Yeah?" Albus said, not sure how to respond properly to such a welcome. "What can you do against vampires? I saw one on the train."

"Vampires?!" James sounded a mix of astonished and bemused, looking up. "There're no vampires at Hogwarts stupid!"

"Shush you!" Akuji snapped, glaring at James. She then turned back to Albus. "But he's right; there are no vampires at Hogwarts."

"But I saw one. He was on the train. He had black eyes and hair, and he was pale and tall and..."

"Look liked that guy?" Akuji smiled, pointing across the hall towards the Slytherin table.

"Yeah! That's him!" Albus exclaimed, surprised. This time Akuji snickered along with James while Crevan raised one immaculate eyebrow in curiosity of the sight.

"Sorry to disappoint kiddo," Akuji fondly patted him on the head. "That's Cyrus Starch, Prefect to House Scaly and resident metamorphmagus. He does the whole Dracula shebang to intimidate people but he's harmless."

"Great," Albus sighed, "one godbrother showing up in drag with the physical accessories to boot wasn't bad enough."

James winced at the memory even though he laughed while Akuji snickered. "So I've heard. I also heard about the time you drank undiluted Sonorous Skittles formula at age five and sang everything in opera for three hours straight."

Albus glared at his brother who shrugged unapologetically. Clearly he had a lot of catching up to do if he wanted to be seen as an equal individual here away from their shadows. He was still glad of the providence that put him in this position and intended to enjoy it while learning the ropes in the autonomous world of boarding school.

Suddenly, Albus found his attention drawn away from the conversation as he heard "Rose Weasly!" called out. He watched anxiously, as his cousin and friend took her spot on the stool and the Sorting Hat placed on her head. He wasn't sure if the hall actually went quiet, or if it was only his imagination, but moments later the hat had decided.

"Ravenclaw!" It announced to the Great Hall.

The Ravenclaw table cheered on, but Albus couldn't help but feel his heart sink. Whenever he and Rose had discussed their futures at Hogwarts, they had always assumed they'd both be in Gryffindor. Rose made eye contact with him across the Hall, and frowned, but shrugged and ran off to join her table. Albus watched as she sat down, a smile on her face as she began talking with her new Housemates. When Professor Trannyth spoke again, his attention was drawn back to the man.

"That's odd." He said, eying the last child waiting to sorted. "That's the end of the list, what is your name?"

The child stood silently for a moment, eyeing Trannyth, or were they looking beyond him. Suddenly, in a flash, it drew its wand. The reaction was almost immediate, as Trannyth stepped back. Behind him, the entire faculty stood from their chairs. Before anyone had a chance to truly react, the child spoke.

"Hēi'àn de zhǔrén shàngshēng," The child announced before aiming it's wand at its feet. "Měi gèrén dōu bìxū zhīfù de jiàgé, bìxū guì zài qiánmiàn!"

Suddenly, black fire erupted from the wand, and struck the ground beneath it. In seconds, the child was completely engulfed in the dark flames.

Trannyth immediately drew his want and aimed at the child. Without a word, water shot out of his wand and hit the flames, but it didn't have any effect. The entire Great Hall was in uproar by now, as the students had all noticed what was going on and most were screaming. Within thirty seconds of the event, the flames were gone, and all that remained was a pile of ash in the spot where the child had once stood.

"Silence!" A voice boomed throughout the hall. All the students turned to look as the school's new headmaster stood behind the staff table. "Prefects, if you will please escort your houses to your dormitory, the school is now on lock down."

Immediately, all the students seemed to rise as one. Albus stared horrified at the ash pile, before getting up as well. As he started to make his way to the grand doors, he stopped when he noticed Akuji hadn't moved.

"Akuji, we have to go." James urged from the other side of the table, the crowd pushing him along towards the doors.

"Akuji..." Albus started, then stopping himself. She had a look on her face. He couldn't call it fear. He couldn't call anything.

Was it anger? Concern? She was a blank slate.

He felt like he shouldn't ask. So he just continued along. The flow of the crowd eventually blocking her from sight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Did you _see_ that?" Albus nodded and focused on not being run over by the crowd headed in what he presumed to be the direction of Gryffindor tower. "That was… insane!" The last time James spoke so openly and outright to him was two years ago as they lay in the older boy's bed that he had crawled into the night before James departed for his first year of school. In spite of the insanity surrounding them he found he didn't want to break the small illusion of a return to their old selves those few words brought.

Their cousin Fred cheerfully put in his two cents as he made his way to their side. "Yeah, forget about pranks, that was like… freak show of _the year_." Named after his infamous late uncle, the son of the remaining founder of the magical world's biggest jokester franchise knew more than most about this kind of thing. "That's actually a pretty good show except it's not Halloween for another two months. I wonder what that was about. Think it was real maybe?"

"If it was, we'll know by morning."

"What's up Lou? Where were you earlier?"

Louis, or Lou as some of the more casual members of his family liked to call him, was the son of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. The later had passed on her Veela heritage to all her children, most especially her only son. Flawless beauty, like angels, set off by a halo of silvery-gold hair- in Louis's case that fell in casually mussed waves to just above his shoulders. Most people would have felt awkward and self-conscious in the presence of the fair haired teen that now joined the discussion; except for the fact Albus had known him since they were knee high to a grasshopper and might have considered Louis more a bother than James.

The older boy flashed the special smile he saved for his favorite cousin, making Albus feel instantly at ease despite the groups of giggling girls who had seemingly decided to considerately retain enough distance from their idol to give the small family pack a measure of privacy for their conversation. Or maybe it was the reputation of his brother and other cousin that kept them at bay. Akuji had warned the name of Weasley and Potter could be a blessing or curse depending on the owner in question.

Speaking of which… "Hey, did any of you see Akuji leave with us?"

For some reason Albus felt a stab of annoyance and jealousy at the tone of concern tinting his brother's voice as James looked around for his absent friend. However, remembering the expression on the Akuji's face as she stood unmoving- staring at what remained of the strange child, he couldn't help a sliver of worry creeping into his gut. She had looked so different from the lighthearted- if somewhat commanding- girl he'd met on the train.

"She was still at the table when we left." All turned their gaze on the person who had spoken. It was Crevan, who had apparently been tagging along but remained silent till this point.

_How did I not see him there?_ Albus wondered. The raven haired boy was almost as conspicuous as his blond cousin. Already, out of the corner of his eye, he could see the hovering crowd of females taking note of the exotic new specimen in their midst and no doubt sizing him up in comparison with their idol.

It had never really clicked for Albus what it must be like for most people when meeting his cousin for the first time. He was so familiar with Louis's easy-going, warm nature that the thought of comparing himself with the older boy never even crossed his mind.

Now, walking beside this new student, he couldn't help noticing the flawless, pale skin with just the barest of tans to speak for the climate he hailed from. Midnight onyx eyes beneath long, dark lashes gave him an esoteric look bordering on aloof- almost to the point of being haughty- excepting for a number of blackest silk strands that had been ruffled from their neat position framing the sides of his face during the earlier rush. But far from scuffing his appearance, the errant bangs danced about in the light breeze of his movements to add in a casual element that softened the look and enhanced the rest of his facial features- the high, sharply defined nose over pale lips and articulate eyebrows that, as he'd observed on the train, could communicate opinions with the barest of lifts. It certainly didn't help with the way Crevan carried himself as he strode along that made him look like he belonged more in a royal mansion than the gloomy school halls, yet still managed to appear as if this was the most natural and causal thing in the world; something even aunt Fleur had never managed convey the impression of.

Maybe that was why he was more conscious of the other boy. Because while Louis was beautiful and charming, Crevan emanated an inscrutable air which added a dark tone to his attractiveness that created an almost mysterious element and made him stand out even more than Albus's cousin.

"She looked pissed about something." The words snapped Albus out of the mini trance he'd been caught up in while analyzing his sudden intimidation of Crevan. Now the events prior to them exiting the Great Hall rushed back.

"How could you tell?" To the young boy, Akuji had looked pretty blank. Was it shock perhaps?

Crevan gave a small grimace that would not have been noticeable had Albus not been watching him so closely. "If you ever have the unfortunate luck of meeting my extended family you would find learning to read masked emotions a most useful tool."

Albus opened his mouth to inquire further, but was cut off as the group ground to a halt behind the small traffic jam in front of the entrance guarded by the portrait of the pink lady, the resident occupant now seated in a frame two over from the open hole and calling greetings to the passing students along with a number of other paintings lining the walls. Albus couldn't help staring in awe above, below, and all around, as number of staircases slowly swung back and forth at seeming random will, eliciting squeals of surprise and excitement from the new first year students. He could have spent a good five minutes just watching to try to see all the many different landings and ways the stairs could grant one access to the dorm.

Of course James had to ruin the moment with a completely unrelated question, "should we go back to look for her?"

Albus was surprised as both Fred and the normally well mannered Louis let out simultaneous snorts of derision at the suggestion.

"James," Fred didn't bother hiding the knowing smirk and gleam in his eye that Albus found he was not fond of at all. "The day Akuji needs our help dealing with… anything- is the day your dad lets me back in the house with an electrician's kit with no threat of imminent death and horror."

"Your concern is unnecessary anyways." Crevan interrupted calmly and pointed to a small alcove in the wall opposite and just above them.

"Well it's about time you knuckleheads got here. Enjoy the scenic view."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Welcome to the Club**

"_Well it's about time you knuckleheads got here. Enjoy the scenic view?" _

The notion of responding to the comment crossed Albus's mind but for a second before he suddenly found himself being pulled back by the firm hand of Louis and tucked protectively against his cousin's side. Frowning, he looked questioningly up, but Louis's face was set in a harsh grimace with his eyes glued upwards.

A chorus of shrieks and terrified screams filled the air as the dark figure exploded out into midair over their heads in a flurry of black cloth flapping like dark wings. Two seconds later, Akuji landed on the banister before their group, crouching and grinning like a gargoyle that had just spent a fulfilling afternoon blowing raspberries at glass saints.

"_Do not do_ _that_!" Albus almost jumped at the venom in Louis's normally soft tone as he pulled away to stand forward and glare at the daredevil. "For the millionth time, not only is it incredibly dangerous and irresponsible, but are you going to take responsibility when one of these impressionable new students decides to try copying you?"

Akuji's grin got bigger as she hopped down to the stairs and straightened to look the irate Prefect in the eye. "Even Batman's fan wannabes know better than to go jumping off roofs without his toys. You think too much Louis.

"Besides, I don't hear any of them complaining." Albus looked where Akuji indicated with her thumb to see several older students glancing their way with mixed looks of bemusement, annoyance, or simple resignation. Prefects he guessed, who had probably given up telling the uncontainable girl what she could or couldn't do when it wasn't strictly breaking school rules.

Louis glared but any retort was cut off as Akuji unconcernedly slithered smoothly around him to toss her arms around the Potter brothers. "C'mon boys, let's go, I'm starving." Do to their little scene on the staircase, the entrance had pretty much cleared and Akuji had no problem carting them all happily along past the stragglers and through the hole.

Inside Albus was met by the bubbly scene of students seated in groups up and down the common room. To one side several large tables had been set up and now groaned under heavy dishes piled with food that gave a succulent aroma and made his stomach growl.

"Ha, ha," Akuji laughed warmly, "I think we'd better feed you boys before those monsters get out." Albus would have blushed except he saw James give Akuji a half embarrassed eye roll. He guessed James still had trouble hiding his stomach's honesty as much as his little brother. Somehow that made Albus smile.

"Off with ya then," Akuji smirked and playfully shoved the brothers in direction of the food. "I'll see what I can conjure up for the seats." With that, she glided smoothly into the press that filled the room.

No words were spoken as the boys were all too hungry to even think about conversation material. Instead they all filed perfectly in line to get plates and begin the process of piling on as much food as they could. Once done with that task, they set off to find what seating arrangements Akuji had managed to scrounge up for them.

"Over here guys." Following the hand waving over the sea of heads, the group came upon a cluster of seats arranged near one of the fireplaces. But that was where Albus's expectations ended and surprise set in. When Akuji said she'd be conjuring up seats he'd understood it as she would find them a place to sit; not _literally_ magic-ing their seating arrangements into existence.

While most of the furniture he had seen so far in the room was well maintained but obviously well used, the seats Akuji had pulled up all looked to be brand new and not at all like they had originated from the regular furnishings. In total there were four armchairs, one upholstered in what looked to be black silk, two in the House colors, and one in deep royal blue. The last two seats were large recliners done in tie-dye and some kind of fuzzy black material respectively. Akuji sat, almost bouncing, in the latter.

"Nice, as always," Fred complimented as he immediately claimed the tie-dye. James took the the crimson and gold armchair closest to Akuji while the remaining three boys stood awkwardly.

Akuji smiled and waved to the blue armchair on her other side. "Sorry Al, Crevan, I didn't know what you guys liked so I just picked off the top of my head. I can change them if you want."

"You changed these with magic?" Albus looked at the girl in awe, before accepting the seat Akuji obviously wanted him to occupy while trying to ignore the slight glare James shot him.

Akuji smirked. "No Al, I built and upholstered them while you were getting your food. Yes with magic, duh." Her smile returned at Albus's look as he sank several inches into the extremely soft material of his chair. Crevan's face remained neutral as he politely took the black armchair. Turning her attention to Louis who remained standing with lips pressed in a line from disapproval, she asked, "Aren't you going to sit?"

Louis shook his head and made a jerky nod towards another corner of the room. "I'll be joining my friends." Turning to Albus, he gave a warm smile and said, "Good to have you here _mon petit_ cousin, try to make sure these hoodlums don't go blowing the place up before we can get at least some sleep." With that, he turned and stalked away while still managing to look, for the most part, graceful as ever.

"Ooo-kay!" Akuji shrugged, "well then, food time." Beaming like a Cheshire kitten on crack, she bounced off in the direction of the serving table.

"What was that about?" Albus asked, following Louis with his eyes before looking back at his other cousin, knowing he stood a higher chance of an answer with Fred than James

Fred shrugged and pressed his lips together as if in thought. "Louis is your stereotypical beautiful, charming, well mannered, _perfect_ Prefect.

"Akuji is… well… uhhh…" he waved a hand, "how do I put it…"

"Akuji?" James offered helpfully, grinning and chuckling around a stuffed mouth.

"In a word," Fred smiled and nodded with an impish smirk.

"Girl's a nutcase of fifty new ways to insanity without the straightjacket. And even if you tried the straightjacket she'd only be amused and find a way to haunt your reality over the astronomy tower balustrade because, as she says, 'it'll be _fun'_."

Albus listened quietly, only poking at his food. He'd never heard James speak about anyone- except maybe Fred's father, uncle George- with such enthusiasm, and it made something inside feel like a stone weighing on his stomach. He remembered a time when that kind of praise was more commonly associated his own name, before James decided to 'grow up' and became a jerk over the last two years. That he had even imitated her on that last bit was gnawing at his chest. Without meaning to, his gaze drifted to where Louis sat surrounded by his fellow Prefects. The blond boy was busy talking to one of the older boys, but seeming to sense Albus's gaze, turned to flash an encouraging smile and tilt his head in invitation to join them.

"So what'd I miss?" Albus almost jumped when the hyper ball of erratic energy bounced into her seat, startling him back to their small gathering. "You don't have to be polite Al, hurry up and dig in or you'll miss dessert." Akuji pointed to his untouched plate and rolled her eyes with a smile of pretended exasperation.

"You know, you can join him if you want." Albus just managed not to squirm at the gentler tone, realizing the seemingly harebrained girl had not missed the way he'd been watching Louis like a little lost puppy. Akuji may not be the most subtle of persons, but he had the feeling that actually very little got past her.

"Yeah, you two are probably dying to catch up. We're just going to be talking about boring school stuff here anyway." While Akuji had been casual understanding, James was not doing such a good job of hiding the fact he was obviously hoping his brother would take the hint and scoot along. This was met by a sharp smack to the head by Akuji who glared daggers at the boy, who began sputtering in an undignified manner over the large glob of gravy that went up his nose after landing in it.

Glancing once more at Louis, Albus was disappointed to see the view of his cousin being blocked by several girls who hadn't been there just a second ago. Returning his attention to the sight of his brother cleaning brown paste off his face, he took one more look at the growing crowd of Louis fans and made his choice. Picking up his fork, he took a bite of salad and gave James a look while chewing decisively so he wouldn't laugh at the view.

James suddenly paused in his pitiful attempts at regaining some form of dignity to watch his brother. This day was going any way but what he'd planned. First, Albus had to play leech and hang around like a kicked puppy, which invariably led to Akuji latching onto him like Than with a new toy. And if that wasn't bad enough, she'd actually told him to help his brother with his trunk. Once upon a time James would have felt tremendously bad for abandoning his brother in such manner, but now seemingly couldn't care less. Then she'd not only invited Albus once but _twice_ to sit with them for dinner and then smacked him for trying to offer Albus a way to back out and sit with Louis like he no doubt was dying to, so the goodie-two-shoes duo could come up with more ways to suck up to their parents. Now James watched through slit eyes as Albus wolfed down Shepherd's pie like his brother's current predicament wasn't his entire fault.

Normally in such cases James would be plotting mass havoc to invoke the inevitable tumble of the offending party from public grace. The fact that the current target was his own sibling in no way dampened his enthusiasm. Only one problem, how to do so without incurring the unholy nightmare that was the wrath of a certain female he'd rather jump in a second acromantula nest before pissing off.

Fortunately the trickster deities seemed to be in a playful mood tonight.

Dabbing his nose in another desperate attempt to make himself at least presentable without getting up to go the washroom, a stroke of brilliance struck him.

Albus was half-way through his plate when a seeming sixth sense awakened an abrupt warning bell. Glancing up, he looked around to see what could possibly be the cause when he felt the food freeze in his stomach. "Hey shrimp," was all the warning he got before a large chunk of gravy soaked chicken struck his cheek and dripped down into his lap, leaving an gooey trail in its wake.

Surprised, he touched where the projectile had struck and pulled his fingers away to look at the oily goop, his mind not quite processing what had happened. Taking in the sight of James's wickedly grinning face, he turned to Fred for some clue to how he should respond. But his cousin seemed more interested in watching what would happen next and only gave Albus a bob of his eyebrows and another impish smile. Akuji, who had been unhesitant in her reprimands of James up till now, did… absolutely nothing; opting to also sit and watch the proceedings with quite a bit more interest while feeding a bowl of meat to Than who had materialized by his masters side. Crevan looked utterly bored with the whole thing and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

Albus didn't want to get in a fight on his first day and especially not with his brother, but he wasn't one to back down. Guess this was that point his father had once talked about where you had to make your stand to show others what you were made of. Actually, hang on, James _was_ his _brother_, and everyone _knows_ how brothers can be.

James caught the flicker in Albus's eye and felt his smirk of triumph begin to slip. Despite his mild mannered appearance, James knew, when push came to shove, his brother could stand his ground as well as any Potter or Weasley- a side benefit of growing up in a large family.

Albus seemed to calmly consider the blob on the front of his robes, before wordlessly wiping away the remains of the assault with a napkin.

For a moment, James wondered if his brother was considering turning the other cheek. If there was one thing Akuji was, it was confrontational. If Albus backed off now maybe she would lose interest.

Giddy with the idea, James wasn't paying as much attention as he really should have. By the time he caught on to Albus's subtle movements it was too late. The projectile, aimed with considerably more accuracy, hit its target perfectly.

Albus smirked in triumph as the large chunk of pie dripped pieces of meat and crust off his brother's nose. If James wanted to play hardball he could go that route- ten times more devious- thus the use of a full spoon instead of a measly half-bitten morsel off the end of a fork.

James heard Akuji give a small chuckle and felt himself go bright red. Glancing at her, he saw she had stopped eating and was giving him a look that quite clearly said 'well, he's made his move, _what'cha_ gonna do about it?' Well, if Akuji was amused he was in the clear to continue.

"Nice one Al." Unlike his more composed companions, Fred was chortling merrily at the sight.

James felt himself go even redder, but this time from annoyance. How dare Fred side with Albus on this. Well, if that's the way it was going to be…

Fred quickly found his merriment cut short as he began sputtering on the mashed remains of Albus's initial attack which James had wiped off and chucked at him that ended up mostly in his mouth. But if there was one thing Fred excelled at on the most basic level of misbehavior it was food fights, countless incidents at his own home had given plenty of target practice.

James was grinning broadly as Fred spat the offending matter into a napkin and loaded his own fork. What Fred had forgotten in the heat of the moment was that James himself had had plenty of practice from all the times he visited to plague Angelina Johnson Weasley with the very idea of a second son. The annoyed 'gaaah' that filled the air as the ducked projectile hit Akuji instead caused him to lose interest in fighting and instead join his original partner in crime in hearty laughter.

Until Akuji cackled evilly and, dispensing with all pretenses, scooped up a mixed handful from her plate and sent it flying in chunks that broke up to hit both culprits and even a couple of hapless passersby. Her attempt at apologizing was negated by the fact she wasn't doing a very good job at not laughing at the sight. The following sequence was unavoidable.

Food immediately began flying from some of the braver victims, which caused even more people to be hit, and soon the whole common room was swept up in an explosion of thrown food and laughter. The Prefects tried to stop it but were promptly set upon by numerous groups, led by a self appointed Fred, determined to see the upstanding pupils brought back to the same level as the rest of them. They stood no chance, and were soon flinging their chosen ammo with enough gusto to make the Death Eaters of great Battle of Hogwarts blush

James was soon sporting a new hair style with bits of potatoes and Albus splattered with gravy to look like a walking puddle. Than was desperately scurrying away, trying to keep his pride intact. At one point during the melee, Albus had been surprised to see Crevan sitting calmly, eating from his plate as food bounced harmlessly off the ward he had cast around himself.

"GRYFFINDORS!"

Everyone paused in precisely the position they were when the commanding voice cut thought the noise like a hammer on anvil. Despite his still somewhat klutzy nature, Professor Neville Longbottom held a place of high regard amongst the rowdy Gryffindor crowd and even in the other Houses. A veteran of the Second Wizarding War who had remained to hold down the fort while Potter and his gang were off finding Voldemort's horcruxes- he was a hero and respected as such, in spite of his easy going nature.

Casting a glance around, he was not surprised to see the children of his old school friends and their newest comrades in the plague of terror that was inborn to all children in the middle of the thickest part of the trouble. Trust Potters and Weasleys to start a food fight after a scene like that in the Great Hall. The Vasily girl wasn't much better, she just might be worse than the two families put together to be honest.

"After what happened earlier this evening, you dare display such a lack of propriety?" Akuji, James, and Fred squirmed slightly at the thought of the lecture to come, "Without inviting me!?" So saying, he grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes from a serving dish on the buffet tables and threw it with all his might to where the two most likely culprits stood back to back with their newest recruit.

Their surprise did nothing to James and Akuji; they were somewhat used to the idea of the teacher occasionally giving into his fun side and ducked the shot with ease- James reflexively pulling the fired up Albus out of the way with him.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Crevan, whom had dispelled his ward, thinking the food flinging had ended with the arrival of a professor.

So far the foreign student had managed to avoid being hit and carried on eating like nothing had changed over the last five minutes. Now he touched his face where an enormous mountain of white paste alternately stuck to and frowned as his fingers came away covered in the stuff. For a moment everyone seemed to be holding their collective breath, uncertain how the relatively new stranger would react to this.

Crevan seemed to study the mix of crushed vegetable for a moment before cracking his knuckles in a threatening manner… and promptly raised his whole plate to rub- quite firmly- all over the face of the eldest Potter- who happened to have the misfortune of being closest to him.

His actions were met by shrieks of laughter as the merriment returned in full swing. After all, there was still dessert on the way. And it would be unfair to deny the mounds of treacle the joy of adding their sticky evilness to the insanity brewing.

* * *

**_Yes, if you are a Naruto fan and have made the acquaintance of Lily's artwork, the last scene was inspired by the pic with Itachi covered in ice-cream._**  
_**Comments pls, they are like chocolate. **  
_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The corridor was dark, and Albus felt impossibly cold as he ran along the slender passage, heading for the light at the end. He could see his breath pluming in ghostly wisps as he panted, but pressed onward. Without warning, the light expanded, consuming him.

When it faded, he found himself standing in the vacant Great Hall. Starting to feel fear, he slowly began to work his way up the middle aisle, watching in horror as the food on the tables began to decay more and more with each step.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He turned to flee, but stumbled when he found the Great Hall had simply vanished behind him, now nothing but a foreboding black emptiness. He let out a cry but stifled it quickly. He was a Potter, and Potter's were known for their bravery after all.

Seeing no other alternative, he turned back around to face the Great Hall. That's when he saw it- the young child who had been at the sorting the previous night.

Once again, it drew its wand and aimed at the floor.

"No!" Albus cried, instinctively reaching out, but it was too late.

The black flames erupted once more, consuming the child into a ball of smoke. Albus stared, horrified at the scene once more playing in front of him. As the smoke began to clear, he could just barely make out something, someone.

There was a figure in the smoke.

"Albus..." It called out to him.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Albus..." The silhouette repeated.

"What do you want!?"

"Albus!"

"Albus, wake up. Are you going to sleep through the entire first day of school?" The now almost discernible smudge of outline asked for the third time, shaking Albus more vigorously in an effort to rouse him from his bed. Albus stirred, and saw Jesse Finnigan standing next to his bed.

"Wha' time'sh it?" Albus asked groggily.

"Time to get up is what it is." Jesse answered. "And you best be getting a move on, if you want to get a good breakfast in you before class."

Albus sat up and watched Jesse walk away. What had been with that dream? Had the event truly affected him so much that he was having nightmares about it? He had practically forgotten all about it by the time he had climbed, exhausted, up the stairs to his first year dorm after the massive food fight the night before.

He quickly got out of the bed and started dressing, while Jesse introduced him to the other first years in their dorm that he had failed to properly meet the given the hullabaloo of the evening. One was a short, fat kid named Kevin Myers who spoke in a heavy accent. The next was a tall, muscular one with blonde, practically white hair named Richard Anderson. The last one, however, Albus needed no introduction to.

Short and stocky with a shock of Red Hair, Albus hadn't even considered the possibility that he may run into this one as no one was sure how old he was. Asim Weasley was the perfect blend of his father, Charles Weasley, and his Egyptian mother, whose name Albus did not know. He had been born out of wedlock, the offspring of a one night stand. Not that that had mattered to the extended Weasley family, but unfortunately, his mother had taken him and left. How he came to attend Hogwarts, Albus could not even measure a guess.

"Albus Potter, huh? Apparently, we're related." Asim said, eying Albus coldly.

"Yeah, my mom's your dad's sister." Albus said, offering his hand.

Asim eyed it a moment, but ultimately ignored it. "So just barely, then." he finally responded. Albus watched as the boy crossed the room to the door, and left it, slamming it behind him.

"That... could have gone better." Jesse said, breaking the silence. Albus barely heard him; surprised by the animosity he had felt- from a member of his own family none the less.

Albus rounded the last spiral of the staircase, and once again found him in the common room of Gryffindor tower. He stopped a moment, looking around and taking it all in. It seemed different in the daylight. Also, sometime in the night, someone- most likely the house elves- had cleaned up all the spilled food. Finally, he noticed Akuji and James standing near the entrance.

"Will you just go up there and get him. He's going to miss breakfast!" Akuji argued, exasperated.

"Why? Maybe it would do him some..." James began to retort, but was cut off by a swift and smart smack to the side of his head.

"One word and I hit you again!" She threatened calmly.

"You've been watching too much of that muggle television!" James said, rubbing the injured spot with an offended glower.

The gleam her eyes that accompanied the raised eyebrow and small viper smile would have scared any person with just a tad less self-importance than Albus's dense brother. "I'll show you muggle!" Akuji said in the same calm tone as she caught James's arm and pulled him in a headlock for much warranted noogie.

Albus chuckled quietly as he watched his brother get wailed on by his new friend. He had to confess, there was something enlightening about seeing his brother experience some of what James often put him through.

"So, you live." A measure voice came from behind him. Albus turned his head, and saw Crevan standing on the stair above him. Crevan hunched down to get a closer look at him. "You look like hell, rough night?" Crevan asked him.

"Yeah, kind of, I guess." Albus confessed, surprised at the statement and highly unexpected polite concern.

"I'm not surprised," Crevan responded. "Dark Magic can leave quite the impression on someone. Was it your first time seeing it?"

"Well, I mean, I've read about it." Albus said, not wanting to sound like a little kid.

"Reading about it in a book, and seeing it in person are two different things." Crevan replied, looking past Albus at Akuji and James. "Well, I suppose we should get over there before she causes your brother too much brain damage."

Albus couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter at the remark. He smiled for the first time that day. "Yeah, I supposed we should." He said.

"First, let me see if I can help you out a little. It wouldn't do anyone any good if Akuji saw you in this state. She'd probably use it as an excuse to punch the nearest idiot into next week." He said, pulling his wand out of his robes. He aimed it at Albus's face, and, without saying a word, cast a spell. Albus immediately felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"There, that helped." Crevan said, patting Albus on the shoulder. "Let's go."

"Ok," Albus agreed, smiling. After seeing Akuji yesterday, it didn't surprise him that Crevan would be able to cast wordless spells as well.

The two of them stepped down the stairs and crossed the room to where Akuji was now chasing James around the entrance beating him over the head with an overstuffed pillow, summoned from who knows where. She stopped when she heard their approach, and looked over at them.

"There you are!" She exclaimed, throwing the pillow at James, who stumbled, before throwing it onto a nearby chair. "About time you woke up, I was worried we might miss breakfast."

As a group, they made their way out the portrait hole and down the stairs to the Great Hall, where they managed to get seats almost at the end of the table across from each other- Akuji and Albus (to James' dismay) on one side, James' and Crevan on the other. Instantly, James dug in, pigging out on an assortment of eggs, sausage, ham and muffins.

Albus couldn't help but join his brother in his efforts to cram the whole table into his mouth; he was starving, considering most of his dinner had ended up on the floor of the common room. Akuji and Crevan, however, seemed content to take their time, eating almost tactfully and with surprisingly perfect manners.

However, Albus hardly got down more than a few bites when a hush fell over the hall. He looked up to see that the Headmaster had risen from his chair, obviously aiming to address the students.

"If I could have your attention," Headmaster Gaunt announced. "I do not wish to interrupt your breakfast, but after last night's unfortunate turn, we didn't get to finish welcoming the first years. I am your new Headmaster, Headmaster Gaunt. I am more than happy to be overseeing this year at Hogwarts, and I hope that we can all get along famously.

"First off, I would like to reassure you all. We are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter of last night and are hopeful of being able to discover the truth soon. Until then I can assure you we have taken extra precautions with our security and nothing future has come of it so far, so you may rest at ease and enjoy your time here.

"With that said, there are some rules here at the school. First and foremost, the forest is forbidden to all students, unless accompanied by a member of the staff. Secondly, Nine o'clock p.m. is curfew, all students must return to their common rooms by this hour. Other than that, just use your best judgment and I wish you all a wonderful year here at the school."

And it was over as quickly as it began. Gaunt sat back down behind the staff table at the head of the hall, and the droning of hundreds of conversations once again filled the room. Albus stared at his plate, his appetite gone after being reminded of what had happened in this very same room the night before.

"That was really weird last night." James said, taking a huge swallow of scrambled eggs. "I wonder what it was all about. Do you think they told dad about it Albus?"

"I guess..." Albus replied, solemnly.

"I'm sure if your almighty parent thought you were in any danger you'd be hearing about it from your mother, who would be overreacting in the way most mothers tend to."

Albus was about to ask how Akuji knew how his mother would react if she ever heard about last night from her husband before he remembered Ginny getting a letter the previous school year about a prank involving James and the Slytherin's common room suddenly sporting an unnatural amount of 'brightening' colors and 'uplifting' positivity motivational quote posters. He was also quite sure Akuji had had more than a helping hand in said incident.

"Either way, no doubt security has been cracked down on since last night. It's not the first thing like this to happen here. Undoubtedly, the staff knows how to deal with this situation." Crevan added. A chuckle from Akuji contended his statement.

"Wait for it." Akuji grinned gleefully, her eyes locked on the staff table, "any second now."

"'Till what?" Albus asked, confused at the girl's sudden turn in behavior.

James had a much more suspicious tone when he echoed the question. "Yeah, until what Akuji?"

"You'll see" Akuji teased, her grin looking more like wolf baring it's fang in anticipation of prey walking dumbly into its trap.

Suddenly, all eyes were drawn to a loud commotion up at the staff table. Albus would never have believed it if he hadn't been there to see it.

The teachers, some of the most esteemed members of wizarding society, were all out of their seats, some standing, others doubled over clutching at the table and chairs for support as they stared at one another in shock. As one, they seemed to bubble and warp in odd proportions, twisting and writhing like a school of misshapen eels trying to run from something but firmly rooted the spots where they stood. In less than twelve hours the Great Hall found itself once again awash with the sounds of panicked shrieks and screams.

"Enough!" Everyone froze. Those students who, possibly, seemed to have got it in their heads this was a repeat of last night, and were already half way out the doors, turned fearful eyes to look back.

"Ahem!" Kara Franks, the charms professor, cleared her throat and then froze with a look of utter shock stretching across her face. "Acio mirror!" She screamed in a high pitch voice. All the other teachers were now looking at each other and themselves in horror.

Everyone held their collective breaths as a large mirror flew over their heads and stopped abruptly in front of the head table. No one moved as the pretty teacher glared at her reflection. Finally, seeming to come to a conclusion, she vanished the mirror.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat again. "It would seem someone has not taken the events of last night to heart and has decided instead that the situation rather calls for what they consider humorous or that their prank would be disruptive to classes.

"Well," she went on, "I am not sorry to disappoint you, your prank is neither amusing and if you think this is enough to get us to cancel classes then you could not be more wrong. Please proceed to your classrooms in an orderly fashion, thank you." With that she swept out of the room, closely followed by the rest of the staff.

No one spoke for a few seconds, but then some began to notice something very off about the teachers.

"Why is the Headmaster in lady's robes and a pink neckerchief?"

"Don't you think those robes are a bit _big_ for professor Flamel?"

The whispers spread like wildfire, and as soon as the last adult swept through the door behind the high table the room exploded in a roar of chatter as all speculated on what could have happened.

"Silence, silence please!" Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at Fred Weasely. The redhead had hopped up on the high table and was banging two dish covers together like cymbals to call for order.

"Thank you," Albus saw several of the Prefects shooting his cousin dirty looks, but the prankster continued undeterred. "Now, while I, most sadly, for once cannot take the credit for such a lovely work of art, perhaps I can help answer some of the questions that seem to be plaguing you lot since most of you were too busy looking elsewhere to see what happened." Total silence settled. Fred smiled mischievously, letting the anticipation build until you could have used it for dart practice. "It would seem our most esteemed professors are experiencing a few technical glitches about who is who."

The silence continued, only a few getting the cryptic explanation. "Or, for those of you who have never had the joy of experiencing such a thing, quite simply put- they are experiencing a minor case of Freaky Friday blues."

The anticipation turned to shock, but this time the stunned silence only survived barely a few seconds before the room once again exploded. This time in a roar as students doubled over laughing. Those who still didn't get it were quickly brought up to date.

"You put polyjuice potion in their drinks?!" James asked Akuji, but his tone said he already knew the answer. Albus looked at Akuji with a mixture of both shock and impressed respect for her daring. Crevan, while not laughing, looked more than a bit surprised and couldn't suppress a smirk.

Akuji wiggled her eyebrows and smiled cheekily. Oh yes, this was shaping up to be a very interesting year.

Finally, after a good several minutes, the students managed to calm down. A general semblance of order was restored as the Prefects remembered their duties and, recalling the professor's (they thought it might have been Headmaster Gaunt wearing Professor Franks' appearance but one could not be too sure) warning, quickly began to rush their lower classmates along.

"You are so dead," James snicked as they passed through the doors to the entrance hall.

"Yes," everyone in their group froze at _that_ voice, "she is."

_**Trouble in paradise already? And it's only the second day. Mwahahahahahahahaahahahaha.!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Albus stared at the familiar figure, standing so proudly as the wave of students walked around him, on their way to class. Only his cousin Louis could pull off looking like he already owned the place on the first day of school. The Prefect began making his way over to them, his walk determined and with purpose.

"So, so dead Akuji." He said, coming to a stop.

"Why, whatever did I do?" Akuji asked with an innocent whine, but also a mischievous grin on her face that gave her away completely.

"Polyjuice potion?! You've completely lost your mind; very, very sloppy of you." Louis explained. "You've been pulling pranks like this ever since you've got here. Finally, it is with great pleasure that, as a prefect, I'm going to be the one who personally reports you. If you'd please accompany me."

"Polyjuice? Is that some form of troll regurgitation ? Why, dear Louis, if I didn't know better I'd say you've had a tongue twister hex placed on you- unless it's a simple case of genetic gingivitis?" Akuji retorted with an ever widening smile.

Albus couldn't help looking between the two participants of the conversation wonderingly as Akuji changed her voice to a light, airy tune to give the perfect image of a cultured young lady, rather than the wise-talking classmate he was just getting used to. He turned with the intent of asking James about this, but his brother was watching the exchange with undisguised glee, so Albus decided to copy him and quietly observe the outcome.

"As you wish Akuji, play dumb." Louis said, annoyed. "Albus, James, get to class. Akuji's coming with me."

"Oh, Louis, would you stop already. I know you adore me, but this really isn't the time or place for it." Akuji continued sweetly. "Now would you look? The crowd's cleared out. We're going to be late, and it's Albus's first day. Shame on you."

Albus looked around, and only now did he discover that the area was indeed cleared out. They had even lost Crevan it would seem.

"Come on Louis, she's got a point. You're holding us up." James complained. Not because he cared about attendance records, but because he disliked spending more than necessary quantities of time delighting in the company of his perfect Prefect cousin.

"I told you two to get to class already." Louis argued. "This is between Akuji, the headmaster, and I."

All of them were taken off guard when the voice reverberated through the hall. Their eyes snapped to the entrance as the frail old man stepped into the hall, leaning heavily on his cane.

"What have we here? Students out of class?" Argus Filch asked. "Mmm, mmm, we are in trouble."

"Could you speak up old man? I think your catch phrase is losing some of its magic." Akuji said.

"Akuji!" James growled, elbowing her in the sides.

"Ow, dick!" Akuji returned a growl of her own, before kicking James in the knee. James quickly recoiled, grabbing his knee and rubbing it fiercely.

"My good Filch," Louis said, addressing the caretaker in a diplomatic tone of to state the obvious. "I'm a prefect; I was just lecturing these students about being out of class. I'm sure they've learned their lesson."

"No," Filch responded, shaking his head. "No, I think I heard the word Polyjuice. No, I think you'd best come to the Headmaster's office with me. I hope you enjoyed your breakfast, it's the last you'll be having at Hogwarts."

It was in near silence that Albus followed Filch and the others through the hall and up the stairs, on the way to what he assumed was the Headmaster's office. By the time the group arrived at the third floor, the boy was practically shaking.

"Don't worry," James reassured his brother quietly, as to not be overheard. "We didn't do anything, Akuji's the only one that will get in trouble."

"You wish." Akuji retorted just as quietly, but much more cheerfully. "Evidence being in sore lack, I'm walking away from this scot free."

"Just shut up and let me do the talking, I'm a prefect, they'll listen to me." Louis snapped, keeping his voice down to avoid being heard by the caretaker.

"How generous of you to make up for being the reason we're even here." Akuji blandly replied.

"We're here," Filch said, just a little too gleefully, pulling up in front of a gargoyle statue.

Albus came to a stop, staring up at the massive gargoyle that stood before them. If he hadn't been raised in the wizarding world, he would have jumped when it lowered its head to look at them. "Password?" it asked, voice deep and gravely.

"Pu..." Filch began, before stopping himself. He stood there, blinking for a moment. "The password is... er..." Filch muttered, scratching his head.

"What's wrong old man? Your Alzheimer's acting up?" Akuji quipped, smirking.

"Why you…" Filch growled, raising his cane.

Albus almost though he saw Akuji twitch her hand a little closer to the side where her wand was kept. But before the situation could go any further, a voiced filled the hall.

"Mr. Filch, can I help you?"

Albus turned to see Professor Franks marching down the hall towards them. Her robes outlandishly large, they dragged on the floor behind her as she came to a stop a couple feet from the little group.

"Professor," Filch began, lowering his cane. "I was attempting to get in to see the Headmaster, but I can't seem to recall the password."

"What seems to be the problem with these students?" Franks asked, looking at the group.

"Professor, if I could..." Louis began, but Filch cut him off.

"Quiet you," He snapped at Louis. "These students... I can't remember... but obviously they're out of class!"

"Yes, well, there are more important matters to attend to at the moment, send them back to class." Franks responded.

"I'd rather have the Headmaster..." Filch began to argue, but was cut off in turn.

"I am the Headmaster, you dolt! And as you can clearly see, I'm indisposed by this bloody Polyjuice prank." Franks, or rather, the Headmaster said, a fierce look on his/her face. He turned his attention to Albus, Akuji, James and Louis. "You four get back to class."

"Thank you ma'am... er, sir. As a prefect of..." Louis began, but was cut off when Akuji snagged a finger in his collar and began dragging him down the hall, pushing James and Albus in front of her.

"As for you, Filch, I'm sure the dungeons could use a good sweeping." was the last thing Albus heard before Franks… the Headmaster slammed the door to the corridor behind her.


End file.
